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| Peace Prevails in Iran Despite Fears of Possible U.S. Strikes |
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MON, OCT 15, 2001
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Streams of cars in various colors are rolling on incessantly and orderly in wide and narrow streets. Shops and markets are doing booming business.
Iranians, whose eastern neighbor Afghanistan has been under the U.S.-led military strikes for the past seven consecutive days, live and work as normal as usual although they fear that the current anti-terrorism drive might extend beyond Afghanistan.
Iran, who has no diplomatic relations with the United States for the past 21 years, has condemned the September 11 terror attacks in the U.S., while strongly opposed the U.S.-led military operations against Afghanistan, whose ruling Taliban has been accused of harboring Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, the chief suspect of the anti-U.S. attacks.
"We oppose the war on our neighbor, but what can we do? We have to live normally to see what will happen next," said a young man standing at the gate of an open park in a residential area in the capital of Tehran. He was waiting for his friends to attend a party to celebrate the national team's World Cup qualifying victory over Iraq late Friday.
Under dim lights, the park with green trees and grassland looked calm, auspicious and peaceful. Some aged men and women sat on chairs quietly, talking with each other in low voices, while other middle-aged men slowly walked around the campus. Mothers were leading their kids to learn to play.
The streets on the opposite side were ablaze with colorful lights. Shops were busy receiving customers.
"Yes, Iran is in peace following the U.S. strikes. Even in the eastern border province, there has been no tense situation as we have closed the border to prevent influx of Afghan refugees," a man who introduced himself as a government official said, adding that " The U.S. has no reason to attack Iran since we've condemned the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington."
Xinhua correspondent covering news in Mashhad, capital city of Khorasan Province bordering Afghanistan, confirmed that everything there was normal at the moment.
Since the border has been closed, Iranian local authorities are busy with helping international organizations to send relief goods to thousands of Afghan refugees inside the border areas of Afghanistan.
Iran in fact is worried about a possible U.S. violation of its air space or spread of the Afghan war to neighboring countries, because the U.S. is still hostile to Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution and more than 40 U.S. and British warships have been deployed in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea waters near Iran's coastal line.
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has earlier called on the armed forces to be on full alert in order to confront any kind of threat against the nation.
"Iran's geo-political and geo-strategic situation calls for the armed forces to be always vigilant against all existing threats" as they are "the backbone of power, peace, tranquility and progress for the country", Khatami stressed.
Local press has repeatedly reminded the people about indications of possible U.S. spread of the war.
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte had delivered a letter to the U.N. Security Council, saying that "we may find that our self-defense requires further actions with respect to other organizations and states."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has also refused to rule out military action being taken against other countries in the war against terrorism.
Last Thursday, Iran vehemently rejected a claim by the chief of counter-terrorist operations of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Venice Canistraro that seven people on a 22-men list of the U.S. "most wanted terrorists" were believed to be in Iran.
Iran termed the American official's claim as categorically " unfounded and baseless."
Tens of thousands of Iranians in Tehran and other major cities on Friday marched through streets to protest against the U.S. military operations. They warned in a statement that the "White House is fanning the flames of a crisis, the end of which is completely unclear."
"Of course, we've had a sense of insecurity because the fire is blazing in front of our door. But as a regional power who also has had an experience of eight-year blood war with Iraq, Iran can meet any challenge to defend our motherland," said a newsman in the official IRNA news agency.
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